AC-ET Supply Lighting & Audio Solutions for York St John University

30th November 2010

A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ltd have provided lighting and audio solutions featuring Robe, Zero 88 and Allen & Heath equipment for the York St John University’s Quad South Hall, a newly refurbished performance teaching space used by their Faculty of Arts.

Founded in 1841, the University have a long and proud tradition as a distinguished education provider. The University’s Faculty of Arts offer study in subjects including theatre, theatre directing & visual performance, dance & choreography, music & music technology and film & TV production.

When the University’s performance programmes were relocated to the York campus in 2001 as part of an ongoing investment in the site’s facilities exceeding £70 million over the past decade, AC-ET were selected to refit various teaching spaces in order to create a number of performance studios.

Having worked together previously on several projects, AC-ET were approached to upgrade the facilities in the York campus’s newly named Quad South Hall (previously known as the Chapel Studio) into a performance studio.

The University wanted to make the space more attractive and user friendly for performance activities, and encourage external companies to visit and show work. This required a cost-effective yet versatile production system capable of satisfying the multi-purpose nature of the space.

Regarding the lighting system, adjusting the existing rig’s static fixtures at height using ladders was proving to be an issue. To overcome this problem, AC-ET specified Robe Robin 300E spot fixtures to give the University the functionality of a moving head fixture, combined with simultaneous gobo and colour changing effects. The Robe fixtures were chosen due to their lightweight, quiet and very versatile design. To control the automated fixtures, the company supplied a Zero 88 Jester ML48 lighting console.

To ensure the audio system offered a similar level of flexibility for handling the more technically ambitious productions that would be hosted by the upgraded space, AC-ET specified a flightcased Allen & Heath Mix Wizard 16:2 small format live sound console to enable simple mixing on the fly. A Tascam DVD Player was also provided for the space’s main FOH rack to play video content during conferences and selected events onto a projection screen up-stage.

AC-ET supplied, installed and provided full on-site training for the equipment.

The Quad South Hall is being used by both undergraduate and postgraduate students for a whole range of events including live theatre, dance and music performances through to exhibitions, installations and film screenings. The space is also hired for public and private conferences.

York St John University’s Richard Lawrence commented: “The main reason for using AC-ET is the well-established working history we have developed with them over the years. The company have completed several projects for us to a very high standard. From the design consultation at the initial site visits, through to the fitting out of the spaces and forward on to the aftercare training and advice on using the equipment, we once again found the service provided by AC-ET to be second to none.”

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